Vista now available to developers

It's not even November 30 (or January 30) yet. But Microsoft has made Windows Vista available for download to a substantial pool of individuals via the Microsoft Developer Network, TechNet Plus and Microsoft Connect.

MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers are free to download the universal DVD image, Windows expert Ed Bott explained to me, and can install in evaluation mode any Vista version. In order to activate, however (within the 30 day grace period), downloaders need the appropriate product keys.

November 30 is still the official business launch for Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007. And January 30 is the date upon which Microsoft will allow PC makers and retail outlets to begin selling Vista and Office 2007.

To all the people who've said that it's irrelevant that the Zune, PowerShell and other Microsoft products don't yet work with the final Vista bits because no one has them yet, I say I beg to differ. The people who are most likely to rush to download Vista are the same ones who are likely to be the early adopters (and potentially biggest advocates) of new technologies like Zune and PowerShell.

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